"The 72-year-old Asselin, who has served for 20 years on her neighborhood's self-managed homeowner's association, said a small, in-house crew maintains the walking paths and picnic areas that line the nearly 300 homes built on the corner of Treat Boulevard and Bancroft Road. When inundated with foliage, the area can quickly become slippery, and Asselin said clearing the paths is the cheapest way to prevent falls or other complaints about the 42-acre property's landscaping."
"In April, Walnut Creek will join a long list of cities across the Bay Area that have banned the small gas engines that power many leaf blowers. Los Altos became the first to oust the noisy power tools in 1991 a policy sparked by noise complaints that was quickly duplicated in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, as well. Since then, Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael and Santa Cruz have followed suit."
"Kevin Wilk, Walnut Creek's Mayor Pro Tem, said he supports the ban because it reduces pollution, emissions and noise, making good on commitments laid out in the city's July 2023 Sustainability Action Plan. He remains cautious, however, about potential unintended consequences of the new policy particularly the idea that Walnut Creek's phone lines, email inboxes and staff time could be inundated with leaf blower whistleblowers."
Many leaves on the 1,200 trees near Jeanette Asselin's Countrywood home still have not dropped, and she is worried about how to pick them all up. A small, in-house crew maintained walking paths and picnic areas for nearly 300 homes on the 42-acre property, and wet foliage can make paths slippery and create fall hazards. Walnut Creek will ban gas-powered leaf blowers in April, joining other Bay Area cities. Residents express support for electric tools but worry that current electric technology lacks the power to handle wet leaves. City officials expect complaints to be directed to property owners.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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